Bratislava (Reuters) Thousands of Slovaks rallied in Bratislava on Monday to protest against corruption and demand the resignation of the interior minister over his ties with a developer under investigation for tax fraud.

Slovakia’s economy has boomed and living standards have risen sharply since it joined the European Union in 2004, but many Slovaks say their country fails to defend the rule of law, especially in punishing graft.

“Public sensitivity to corruption is growing and the prime minister has also reflected it in his activities — he has appointed a new head of an anti-corruption unit, spoken at anti-corruption seminars but a symbolic closure is still missing,” political analyst Martin Slosiarik told Reuters.

“Many people don’t believe justice is for all, they stopped believing in the principles of democracy, which has helped extremist parties,” he said.

The far-right People’s Party-Our Slovakia group won its first parliamentary seats last year, in an election which gave Fico a second consecutive term as prime minister but cost his party a parliamentary majority.

Fico said on Monday he supported freedom of speech. He

backed Kalinak last year when the minister first faced protests

demanding his resignation.

The government has stepped up anti-corruption efforts, introducing a 35 percent tax on dividends from companies in tax havens and banning firms with unclear ownership from doing business with the state.

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